Dinah Laurel Lance (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
serinusniger) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
shatterverse2008-04-01 12:50 pm
serinusniger) wrote in shatterverse2008-04-01 12:50 pm
Entry tags:
Sparring at dawn
Early this morning, Dinah can be found on the stretch of well-used field between the bunker and the pond, in full Black Canary costume, stretching out. She's joined just after sunrise by Mel, who leaves the girls in their baby chairs at the edge of an unmarked area and joins the older woman.
"You sure you want to do this?"
They both say this at once. Mel smirks widely then, and Dinah grins naturally. It's the blonde who bows first, but Mel follows soon after, coming back up into a stance learned from Iroh. Dinah's stance is her own - or rather, her mother's. One copied all those years ago but never taught. Like the habit of always letting her opponent get one hit in first so she can find out what they're made of.
It might have broken her jaw, except she knows how to roll with it, throwing her hands above her head as she flies back, turning it into a somersault and recovering. Even then, she could tell, from the look in Mel's eyes and the way in which she recovered - the young mother had pulled her punch. Dinah resolves not to let her land another one. A harder resolve than she's comfortable with, and it's not Mel's strength. Since she first pulled on her Mom's fishnets and wig, Dinah Lance has been fighting people who are stronger and hit harder than she does. But it's not that often she comes across someone who's this much faster as well.
Mel's next few punches, well executed but mostly powerful,hit thin air as Dinah weaves around them, counting on her superior eye to predict where they'll hit rather than her own speed. When the Black Canary strikes out, it's with perfect form and precision, mixing everything she learned from all her teachers.
Mom
The JSA
Sensei
Batman
Diana
Cassandra
Lady Shiva
Dinah's never once been short of teachers, and she's always been willing to learn more. And to teach. And that's what this is, really, learning from the superstrong thiefwho's been fighting to protect her family, and attempting to teach the young street fighter that strength and speed can get you nowhere if you don't have the skill.
Mel's not learning it well. Dinah knock her down, and she rolls right back up, launching herself at the woman. The Black Canary's a martial artist, but the thief's a street wrestler, and never worried about stance and technique as long as she can stay off her feet and keep the attacks going. On more than one occasion, she throws Dinah across the field, but Dinah's been there as well, rolling in the air to avoid losing herself.
The sparring goes on for nigh-on an hour, the upper hand switching regularly. Dinah begins to flag first, not having the same super stamina, but Mel's attacks also slow down as the sun rises, and as Mel begins to get sloppy, Dinah's technique stays perfect even through the sweat coursing down her face.
"You rely too much on your powers," she says, and after all this time it's the first thing either of them have said.
"What's 'too much'?" Mel manages. "I can't exactly help being strong."
But then someone can take you and cage you and reduce you to a piece of meat and you'll never sing again.
"But you can work on your technique," Dinah says. "you've worked with Cass, I can tell, but you've not learned from her. So someone can still do this, and this, and this."
OK, so talking provided a distraction that let Dinah move in to hit the right points. So it was a bit of a dirty trick, but it still sent Mel sprawling, grinning in defeat. She shrugs widely and takes Dinah's proffered hand to stand.
"...and I didn't even need to show you my power."
"This is you telling me I need to get back into training?"
"This is me offering to work with you."
After that's established, Dinah collapses against the bunker, gulping from a bottle of water. She's sort of hoping the display would encourage some of the other fighters to talk about training with her.
[OOC: See, I promised Weaves.Open for spectator threads, but if you wanna catch either of them afterwards, I'll pick them up when I'm back from work.]
"You sure you want to do this?"
They both say this at once. Mel smirks widely then, and Dinah grins naturally. It's the blonde who bows first, but Mel follows soon after, coming back up into a stance learned from Iroh. Dinah's stance is her own - or rather, her mother's. One copied all those years ago but never taught. Like the habit of always letting her opponent get one hit in first so she can find out what they're made of.
It might have broken her jaw, except she knows how to roll with it, throwing her hands above her head as she flies back, turning it into a somersault and recovering. Even then, she could tell, from the look in Mel's eyes and the way in which she recovered - the young mother had pulled her punch. Dinah resolves not to let her land another one. A harder resolve than she's comfortable with, and it's not Mel's strength. Since she first pulled on her Mom's fishnets and wig, Dinah Lance has been fighting people who are stronger and hit harder than she does. But it's not that often she comes across someone who's this much faster as well.
Mel's next few punches, well executed but mostly powerful,hit thin air as Dinah weaves around them, counting on her superior eye to predict where they'll hit rather than her own speed. When the Black Canary strikes out, it's with perfect form and precision, mixing everything she learned from all her teachers.
Mom
The JSA
Sensei
Batman
Diana
Cassandra
Lady Shiva
Dinah's never once been short of teachers, and she's always been willing to learn more. And to teach. And that's what this is, really, learning from the superstrong thiefwho's been fighting to protect her family, and attempting to teach the young street fighter that strength and speed can get you nowhere if you don't have the skill.
Mel's not learning it well. Dinah knock her down, and she rolls right back up, launching herself at the woman. The Black Canary's a martial artist, but the thief's a street wrestler, and never worried about stance and technique as long as she can stay off her feet and keep the attacks going. On more than one occasion, she throws Dinah across the field, but Dinah's been there as well, rolling in the air to avoid losing herself.
The sparring goes on for nigh-on an hour, the upper hand switching regularly. Dinah begins to flag first, not having the same super stamina, but Mel's attacks also slow down as the sun rises, and as Mel begins to get sloppy, Dinah's technique stays perfect even through the sweat coursing down her face.
"You rely too much on your powers," she says, and after all this time it's the first thing either of them have said.
"What's 'too much'?" Mel manages. "I can't exactly help being strong."
But then someone can take you and cage you and reduce you to a piece of meat and you'll never sing again.
"But you can work on your technique," Dinah says. "you've worked with Cass, I can tell, but you've not learned from her. So someone can still do this, and this, and this."
OK, so talking provided a distraction that let Dinah move in to hit the right points. So it was a bit of a dirty trick, but it still sent Mel sprawling, grinning in defeat. She shrugs widely and takes Dinah's proffered hand to stand.
"...and I didn't even need to show you my power."
"This is you telling me I need to get back into training?"
"This is me offering to work with you."
After that's established, Dinah collapses against the bunker, gulping from a bottle of water. She's sort of hoping the display would encourage some of the other fighters to talk about training with her.
[OOC: See, I promised Weaves.Open for spectator threads, but if you wanna catch either of them afterwards, I'll pick them up when I'm back from work.]
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And then, for a few stupefied seconds, there is just staring.
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"There was another version of me that Sokka knew once, too. It seems pretty common. I wouldn't worry?"
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"I," he says. "They're...?"
He grew up in a world not his and had babies? Two? Babies?
...Mel?
Okay, that actually explains why she seemed to know a thing or two about him. BUT STILL.
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Steph isn't sure she should have said anything at all. Her glance darts to the girls and back to him.
"I guess ... nobody really wanted to freak you out? I'm not sure I should ... I mean, other-you wasn't the only Firebender we knew ..."
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"I... No, I guess not. But I- Mel didn't say a thing. I just thought their father looked Fire Nation, and that's why they were confused, since not many people here do."
His tone is still slightly stunned.
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"Mel probably didn't say because it wasn't you, you know? Like little-Sokka isn't my-Sokka. You're totally different people."
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It helps, though, that little twinge that the reminder always gives him. It makes him feel more levelheaded about the situation.
"And... I think I understand. But I'm not sure. They're still the same in some ways. We must have been."
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Steph frowns a little, rather worried by his wording.
"... do you think that means you're ... bound to the same destiny, or similar, or however you'd put it?"
There wasn't only one other Steph that she heard of.
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Yeah, yeah, his babies, his wife-on-another-world, whatever, STEPH HAS ANGST TOO, LET HER SHOW YOU IT.
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Zuko's belief in destiny is complicated. He firmly believes it exists, but also that you can switch to different ones.
"And even if you returned right now, you're forewarned, right?"
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She lifts Loo out of her chair when the girl starts complaining and bounces her on her lap instead, looking curiously at Zuko. He's so much nicer than she thought he would be, from knowing the other one. And more serious. It's ... really interesting.
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"It could be worse, I suppose," he says, with poor grace. But Loo has caught his attention, too, and he eyes her a little warily, a lot curiously.
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She's not allowed to call him Daddy and Sephie's nice but she's not Mommy and Hana yelled at her and THINGS ARE SAD IN LOO-WORLD.
And Hana starts to cry too, because Loo is.
Steph sighs, getting to her feet and cuddling Loo close. "Hey, hey, it's okay. This is Zuko. Zuuuukoooooo. Can you say that, Loo-girl?"
No, apparently.
Steph gives him an apologetic smile.
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Reeeeeally quietly. Mostly, his eyes widen, and he leans backwards slightly.
"Did I do that?" he says, voice slightly higher than normal. "I'm sorry-"
He changes mid-sentence to address the crying children. "I'm sorry. Don't cry."
This... is about as good as Zuko's baby-relating gets.
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"They're just really confused," Steph says, adjusting Loo so she can pick Hana up too. "They know you're not their Dad, but they don't understand why you're just the same as him. And they miss him."
And Zuko just isn't him.
"... I should probably take them inside, I don't think they've had their naps yet." Also, crying babies summon Moms like magic, and Steph thinks Zuko probably needs some time to deal before he talks to her.
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He knows Daddy issues.
But, yeah. Time to deal is very necessary.
"All right," he says, voice low. Babies are crying because of him. This is like, the ultimate guilt.
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"It's okay. You know? You're not their dad, and nobody expects you to be. You don't have to do anything."
This Zuko is so ... so little.
Okay, only a little younger than her, but the one she knew was so much older and grumpier. This one is wee and sweet and needs protecting!
... it's possibly best she does not tell him this.
"Don't worry about it, okay?"
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We really don't need soulful sensitive weepy emo boy Zuko.
"I know I'm not," he says quietly. "I guess I just feel... responsible, if he's not here. I doin't know. This is just..."
So weird, and he doesn't understand, and it's making him pissy. >:O?!
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It's SO WEIRD.
Hana agrees angrily, smacking Steph's cheek with her fist and screwing her face up to yell. Loo is just wailing into Steph's shirt.
"I ... don't actually have any way to make it less weird. Sorry. But it'll get easier to deal with after a bit?"
She's starting to walk away, in that I-don't-mean-to-abandon-you-but-there-are-crying-babies-who-need-their-Mom way.
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But he nods, after a final conflicted look at the babies. "I'll let you take care of them. It's probably better."
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"Um, yeah. It is."
Because ... it just is. Also Mel might kill her.
"See you 'round, though, Zukes."